Coronavirus response teams were unaware of how long the virus can survive on surfaces, said White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx.
“None of us really understood the level of surface [contamination],” Birx said in Wednesday’s press briefing.
A study released last week found that the virus can stay on plastic or steel surfaces for up to three days and could be present in the air for up to three hours. A table in a restaurant, then, could still have the virus on it for days after being used by a person without symptoms.
The researchers’ findings have not been reviewed by other scientists yet, but Julie Fischer, a microbiology professor at Georgetown University, told the Associated Press when the study was published that “it’s a solid piece of work that answers questions people have been asking.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people disinfect all hard surfaces. However, it has not confirmed whether the virus is transmitted through the air.
“We’re still working out how much is it by human-human transmission and how much is it by surface,” Birx said.